Planners call for delay of development during Clarksburg's final phase

Despite concerns over water quality, developers say plans must continue

Concern for the health of Ten Mile Creek, a source of drinking water for county residents, led the Montgomery County Planning Board to ask county leaders to halt development in the Clarksburg watershed until adequate protections can be put in place.

Several county agencies worked with Planning Board staff in writing a report recommending more study before development is permitted to proceed in the final undeveloped section of Clarksburg, Bob Hoyt, director of the county Department of Environmental Protection, said at a board hearing Thursday. The decision comes on the heels of a study released in February that found water quality in Ten Mile Creek is no longer excellent due to construction in Clarksburg.

"[This] gives us the opportunity and the obligation to ensure a better future for Clarksburg," said Mary Dolan, planning supervisor with the board's Environmental Planning Division. "[This area] needs a lot more thought that we were able to give when we were planning the entire landscape of Clarksburg."

The decision will possibly thwart the county's efforts to build a bus maintenance depot and impact four property owners who want to build houses.

The Planning Board was unanimous in asking the County Council to fund a two-year study reopening a portion of the master plan to determine how state-of-the-art environmental site design and low-impact development can be used to protect the sensitive environment while meeting the building goals of the 1994 Clarksburg Master Plan.

Lawyer Robert Harris of Holland & Knight of Bethesda accused the board of basing its decision on an incorrect measure — impervious surface — when his water quality expert, James Soltesz of Loiederman Soltesz Associates Inc. in Rockville had submitted plans that "appropriately addressed" water quality.

"Staff made some very faulty assumptions … we propose state-of-the-art water-quality measures," he said. "This stream can be protected better than any stream in Montgomery County or the United States," he said.

Residents and representatives of many environmental organizations supported the Planning Board's action.

The master plan states that Clarksburg should grow from a population of about 2,000 to nearly 40,000 in stages over 20 years as water, sewer and environmental targets are met. Targets have been met for the final stage of development, Stage 4, however, development cannot proceed until the County Council approves the extension of water and sewer service to the area.

A large portion of the district lies west of Interstate 270, including the proposed bus depot, land south of the depot and the Montgomery County Correctional Facility, and some lies east of Interstate 270 in the town's historic district.

"The master plan also wisely put in place a mechanism to condition Stage 4 development on a review of the documented impacts of development activity in Clarksburg and required an affirmative assessment that development of Stage 4 can be done in a way that fully preserves Ten Mile Creek," Clarksburg Civic Association President Kathie Hulley told the board, reading from a letter written by association Planning Committee chairman John Cook.

The letter states that evidence shows that "even the small amount of development on the edges of Ten Mile Creek watershed have already measurably degraded it, beginning to jeopardize its health and function."

Harris represented property owners who are poised to build in Stage 4.

He called the decision to reopen the master plan an "unprecedented change in the midst of development" and a "violation of the rights of multiple owners."

Pulte Homes had invested $62 million to buy property in Stage 4 and development rights protecting land in the Agricultural Reserve, said Mike McCann, director of land entitlements for Pulte Homes.

"You can't just say, Because I invested money to find better ways I should go forward,'" said Commissioner Amy Presley, who lives in Clarksburg. "We are at least pausing long enough to pull all the data in."

"I appreciate the landowners are in a really difficult situation," he said. "The problem you're running into, Mr. Harris, we've got a general concern about the quality. You've got no generic or overall standard by which the quality is being met."

The board rejected Harris' request to defer action while Planning Board staff meets with his experts to resolve the problems.

"We need a system in this watershed that doesn't depend on proffers and provides a regulatory framework to make everything work," Planning Board Chairman Royce Hanson said.

The County Council will have to modify the Planning Board work schedule and approve $1 million in funding for the limited master plan review. The council has not scheduled action on the request.